As we enter the down slope of summer, it seems fitting for a bit of reflection. "The Vicki Baroco Collection," an exhibit of 45 works from the title's local collector, is on view through Sept. 8 at First City Art Center, 1060 N. Guillemard St.

Baroco has been collecting sculpture and painting since she was 18. This sample is mostly local works sprinkled with a few national and international entries. The latter's intriguing examples are the cowrie shells by the Congolese Kuba Tribe and African beads.

The local contingent includes many Cinco Banderas alumni, such as Sid Kamerman, represented by his oil lamp; Maria Hoch's "Interior No. 9," a painting that recalls Van Gogh's "Bedroom at Arles"; and Xinia Marin's clay "Turquoise Tower."

Baroco claims "to collect what she likes," as opposed to being one who's on the hunt to amass commodity. Her curious, uneven trove also includes Chris Cumbie's Shetland-sized driftwood sculpture of a horse and Dan Dunn's classic oil of a tall ship in the throes of a storm. I assumed that Duncan Stewart's box assemblage was an early work, and it serves as a reminder that he's been gone for a year already. Another vestigial work, a clay "Vessel" by Joe Zayszly, another late artist, is a sort of flying saucer with a coiled top.

Hopefully, we won't have to wait very long to see more of what Baroco likes.

First City's viewing hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Downtown at Mainline Gallery, 422 S. Palafox St., is a small show of images by Navarre photographer Sharon Mavity. She markets her work under the moniker "Arrow Creek Photography," an album of introspective portraits and landscapes. The gallery has ladled out the latter subject, such as "Birds on a Pier," where the skeletal remnants of a pier provide ideal roosting opportunities, and the simplicity of an arc is all that's needed for a "Solitary Bird."

Also this week, Artel Gallery, 223 Palafox Place, is accepting work for its upcoming show, "Retro." Entries will be accepted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.